“Every time I’ve come to Waterford, from the very first time I came here, it’s a place that’s always reminded me of Derry,” said Martin McGuinness during his visit to the city on Saturday last.
Speaking to The Munster Express following a Civic Reception at City Hall, Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister reflected on the parallels between his native city and Waterford.
“That sense of isolation, in Derry’s case from Belfast and in Waterford’s case from Dublin, is something that I’ve long experienced in Derry and have come to experience with respect to Waterford.”
Similar grounds for lobbying and soap-boxing have been frequently trod upon by local politicians and community groups in both cities, Sinn Féin’s chief negotiator added.
“We’ve had the same arguments over radiotherapy provision and the WIT issue is one we can empathise with through the ‘U4D’ University for Derry campaign.
“We’re talking about two working class towns with ordinary working class people, both of which have struggled with the sense that preferential treatment was being given to areas closer to the centre of power. So in that instance, both cities clearly share much common ground.”
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